{"id":9956,"date":"2015-09-17T01:00:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-17T05:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/?p=9956"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:47:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T19:47:18","slug":"conservation-conversations-boxing-the-unweildy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/17\/conservation-conversations-boxing-the-unweildy\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Boxing The Unwiedly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Conservators working with research library collections\u00a0are often confronted with objects more difficult to store and handle than books. At times we must become a bit creative in designing and fabricating enclosures for these items, so that they can be safely stored and are easily delivered to patrons in the reading room. The enclosure must always be constructed of high-quality, stable materials, fit the item well, and be intuitive to use.\u00a0I have found that, in most cases, I can accomplish this with just a few standard materials on hand. In describing my process on a recent project, I hope to show some of these principles in action.<\/p>\n

\"Patent<\/a><\/p>\n

I was recently confronted with the challenge of building an enclosure for this French Patent of Nobility from 1816.\u00a0The manuscript document itself is made of parchment, measuring approximately 14″ x\u00a020″. Attached to the lower left hand corner, via 4 woven textile laces, is a very heavy wax pendant seal (approximately 1″ thick and 5″ in diameter).\u00a0The corner of the parchment has been folded back, so that the woven textile can pass through two layers of strong parchment. Seals like this were often attached as a pendant, rather than applied to the folded or rolled document, so that it can be read without destroying the seal. The colors of the lacing are often representative of the livery colors\u00a0of the document’s issuer.<\/p>\n

\"Wax<\/a><\/p>\n

While the seal remains securely attached, the weight of it has put significant strain on the woven lacing\u00a0and they\u00a0are beginning to fray.<\/p>\n

When designing a unique enclosure, I try to take all the aspects of the item and its use into consideration.\u00a0In this case, the parchment piece is not folded or rolled, so it should remain flat. If it were treated differently, then my final design would take that into consideration. I usually begin by asking the collection managers about storage conditions and anticipated use.\u00a0Next I think about the types of materials needed to safely support the object.<\/p>\n

I have found it best to build a custom enclosure from the inside-out, first measuring the object and then compensating for any padding or additional support before building a box. The wax seal is nearly 1″ thick, and needs to be snuggly held in place so that it is not damaged when moved. The parchment also has some dimensionality to it- and while I want the enclosure to provide some containment so that it does not completely curl, I do not want to force it to be flat. Closed-cell polyethylene foam<\/a>\u00a0(ethafoam) seems to be the best choice as the body of the support, since it is light weight, easy to cut, and chemically stable. I can also purchase it in a 2″ thick sheet.<\/p>\n

I map out the position of the parchment and seal, and cut that out of the ethafoam. I then mount the ethafoam to a piece of B-flute blue corrugated board<\/a>\u00a0with hot-melt adhesive. This provides a light weight, but rigid base. For heavier objects requiring more structural support, I might choose something like honeycomb board<\/a>. The cut edges of the ethafoam can be quite rough, so it must be covered to protect the object. The foam support is covered in a thick\u00a0mulberry fiber\u00a0paper, by just adhering the turn-ins on the underside of the foam with hot-melt adhesive. Since the wax seal must fit very tightly, I\u00a0decide to line the area around the wax seal with a strip of 1\/4″ thick\u00a0Volara<\/a>, a smooth polyethylene foam. The area under the seal and\u00a0parchment\u00a0are also lined in volara foam, making the depth of the tray a little more shallow.<\/p>\n

\"Wax<\/a>

The open layout of the tray makes it easy for a researcher to lift the seal and turn it over.<\/p><\/div>\n

Now that the piece has a nice little bed in which to lie, it needs a lid to hold it in place. I create a simple portfolio case from 4-ply mat board and attach the boards of the case with a pressure-sensitive adhesive tyvek tape<\/a>. You could also use book cloth or linen here. The tray is attached to the case with\u00a03M 415 double-sided tape.<\/p>\n

\"Open<\/a><\/p>\n

This lid comes open quite easily and I want to protect the sides of the tray, so I constructed a simple corrugated clamshell enclosure to fit using the same B-flute corrugated board.<\/p>\n

\"Case<\/a>This final box keeps the entire package secure while being lifted off the shelf. Combined with the inner portfolio, it also acts as a gentile “pressure lid” in case the parchment begins to move from changing environmental conditions.<\/p>\n

\"Corrugated<\/a><\/p>\n

I can now affix labels which describe the item inside and\u00a0provide handling instructions to the patrons. As someone who fabricates and uses enclosures all the time, I can pretty quickly determine how they are intended to be used. This is not always the case with library or archives patrons, so it is best to provide clear descriptions or diagrams either on the lid or inside the enclosure.<\/p>\n

Designing custom enclosures to fit unusual objects can be challenging, but also fun. With a limited number of simple, but high-quality materials, you can produce a safe and durable housing that can protect an object for many years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Conservators working with research library collections\u00a0are often confronted with objects more difficult to store and handle than books. At times we must become a bit creative in designing and fabricating enclosures for these items, so that they can be safely stored and are easily delivered to patrons in the reading room. The enclosure must always […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1353],"tags":[1884,1359],"class_list":["post-9956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservation","tag-conservation","tag-henry-hebert"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Btis-2AA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10109,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/28\/conservation-conversations-the-continuum\/","url_meta":{"origin":9956,"position":0},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ The Continuum","author":"Henry Hebert","date":"October 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Typically very few of the items that come through a research library conservation lab are in their original or unaltered state. While library and archives conservation, as a field, is relatively young, many universities have had some form of bindery or mending division in operation for decades. We often find\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Newton's Opticks","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/opticks_before01-1024x351.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/opticks_before01-1024x351.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/opticks_before01-1024x351.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9028,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/12\/24\/conservation-conversations-doing-nothing\/","url_meta":{"origin":9956,"position":1},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Doing Nothing","author":"Henry Hebert","date":"December 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Action is often the\u00a0focus of conservation literature and it is natural to\u00a0discuss a\u00a0treatment as\u00a0a kind of narrative. Picture it: a cultural artifact, such as a book or painting, comes into a conservation lab in poor\u00a0shape. The condition may be a result of poor materials, improper\u00a0storage, or disaster, but the conservator,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Huguenots and Henry of Navarre, Vol. II (1886)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/treatment_hebert-1024x593.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/treatment_hebert-1024x593.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/treatment_hebert-1024x593.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8778,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/14\/conservation-conversations-adhesives-in-library-and-archives-a-colloquium-review-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":9956,"position":2},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Adhesives in Library and Archives: A Colloquium Review (Part 1)","author":"Henry Hebert","date":"November 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Friday, the first Biennial Conservation Colloquium was held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.\u00a0Four conservators traveled to Urbana from the UK and across the country to speak about their research or practical experiences with various adhesives\u00a0in\u00a0library and archives conservation. 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Also referred to as paper dirt or paper extract, I was first introduced to this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9525,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/22\/conservation-conversations-adhesive-pre-coated-repair-materials\/","url_meta":{"origin":9956,"position":4},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Adhesive Pre-Coated Repair Materials","author":"Athena Moore","date":"April 22, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Mending tears is a treatment that book and paper conservators utilize\u00a0nearly every day.\u00a0\u00a0For this reason, wheat starch paste is one of our best friends at the bench - a dependable go-to, especially when paired with an appropriate eastern paper. 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There is another running joke that is very true about conservators always ending up in the basement. 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